The “Grodzka Gate – NN Theatre” Centre is a local government cultural institution based in Lublin. It works towards the preservation of cultural heritage and education. Its function is tied to the symbolic and historical meaning of the Centre’s location in the Grodzka Gate, which used to divide Lublin into its respective Christian and Jewish quarters, as well as to Lublin as a meeting place of cultures, traditions and religions.

Part of the Centre are the House of Words and the Lublin Underground Trail.

The “Grodzka Gate – NN Theatre” Centre is a local government cultural institution based in Lublin. It works towards the preservation of cultural heritage and education. Its function is tied to the symbolic and historical meaning of the Centre’s location in the Grodzka Gate, which used to divide Lublin into its respective Christian and Jewish quarters, as well as to Lublin as a meeting place of cultures, traditions and religions.

Part of the Centre are the House of Words and the Lublin Underground Trail.

Lublin 1317–1474 ENGLISH VERSION

Until 1317 Lublin had developed into quite an economical centre with trade and crafts in the lead, but it was not until granting of the town privileges that the city begin to flourish. The event which brought its development to a stop for a while was the Tatar invasion in 1341, which left Lublin in a state of a ruin. However, Casimir the Great defeated the Tatars on the right bank of the Bystrzyca river (thus the name of the village and later the district – Tatary).

Index

City character

The municipal character granted by Władysław I Łokietek in 1317 given Lublin the privilege to organise its municipal system on the basis of German town law. The inhabitants were given 20 years of freedom from taxes and customs duties. This provided an encouragement for settlers from further sites to stay in Lublin, which in turn provided favourable conditions for the trade growth. Following these, Lublin became the capital of wójtostwo with wójt – the chief – gaining a wide range of privileges, rights and the status of the most prominent person in town, subordinate directly to the king. At the same time the municipal government was being formed.

Political significance

The union between Poland and Lithuania signed in 1385 provided a great chance for Lublin. It was the first time when the city witnessed an event of international importance. February 2 1386 was when the final agreement was signed: Queen Jadwiga of Poland was to marry Jogaiła, Grand Duke of Lithuania and the latter to become the king of Poland and Lithuania, Władysław Jagiełło. The Lublin castle was a scene of numerous politically significant events. It was here where in 1421 the Hussites offered Władysław Jagiełło the Czech throne after the Sigmundus of Luxembourgh had been dethroned; in 1448 Kazimierz IV Jagiellończyk and the most prominent members of Polish and Lithuanian political circles were visitors here. It was also here that his sons received part of their education under the tuition of Jan Długosz. In May 1448 the first official congress of Polish and Lithuanian nobility took place in Lublin. The significance of the city was highlighted when it raised to the title of the capital of newly proclaimed Lublin voivodeship in 1474.

Economical significance

The Lublin region, remaining a borderland till the Union of Krewo in 1385, became one of the cities in the very centre of the great Polish-Lithuanian country. Thanks to its favourable location, it quickly sprang to the position of few economical capitals of the two united states, becoming the meeting place of Polish, Lithuanian and Ruthenian merchants.

Numerous municipal rights and privileges granted to the city were the reason for its constant development and expansion, which in turn resulted in the city growing to the position of one of the most important trade centres in central-eastern Europe. Owing to the mercantile bloom, a new homogeneous social group of the citizens of the city began to form. The young bourgeoisie of Lublin had its own rights and was fully aware of its close binds with the town.

The town's growth

Urban space of Lublin underwent a serious redeconstruction after 1317. During the reign of Kazimierz Wielki the city was encircled with defensive walls with gates that remained until today – Cracow Gate and Grodzka Gate. A masonry castle was erected next to the castle tower and the Holy Trinity Chapel. The latter, funded by Kazimierz Wielki was later luminously decorated with Russo-Byzantine frescoes due to the funds of Władysław Jagiełło (the decoration works were finished in 1418).
During that period the Dominican Church on the Old Town Hill was redecorated in Gothic style (1342) and City Hall erected at the main square in 1389.
At the same time Lublin begun to grow outside the city walls. In 1419 the church and hospital of Holy Spirit were endowed, thanks to which the city inhabitants gained protection from epidemic outbursts. The Bernardine church and monastery date back to 1470.
Lublin, like many other European medieval cities of 14th century, was a subject to numerous plagues and natural calamities.